If you're going through hell keep going
by theonlycook
Summary: Naomi has just moved to Bristol and started at Roundview College. On her first day she meets a gorgeous red head. But when she finds out about Emily's tragic past, she tries to comfort her. Emily is in need of a friend, but can she get over what has happened to her and open up to Naomi?
1. Chapter 1

"Naomi, get up, you'll be late for your first day!"  
Naomi sighed. She hadn't slept all night. She was too scared about her first day at her new College. She'd just moved from London to Bristol, after her mum fell in love with another prick she didn't even know the name of. Kieran, was it?  
"Yeah thanks Gina, I had an alarm set to go off in about five minutes, but I'd much prefer your shrill voice to wake me up instead." Naomi shouted down to her mum.  
"Don't be such a sarcastic cow, I was doing you a favour, _darling_." As Naomi got out of bed she looked up to see her mum was standing by the door, with a banana and a cup of tea in her hands.  
"Thanks." Naomi took the banana and tea and placed it on her bedside table. She started looking through her wardrobe, she pulled out a bright yellow top, and a skirt with blue and red flowers on it. Gina raised her eyebrows.  
"What? I like this top."  
"It's not the top I was raising my eyebrows at."  
"Cheers Gina, want to get out so I can get dressed now?"  
"I'll leave you in peace then. But don't be too long, Kieran has offered to give you a lift, seeing as it's your first day."  
"I think I'll ride my bike actually."  
"Suit yourself. See you later love."  
She kissed Naomi on the forehead and left her alone to get changed. As much as her mum annoyed her, she was very grateful she wasn't some uptight bitch who tried to control her life.  
Naomi pulled her top on and slid into her skirt. She looked at herself in the mirror. _You can do this, they're just a bunch of twats. _  
She grabbed the banana and made her way downstairs. She walked into the kitchen to see Kieran and Gina kissing, rather passionately.  
"Jesus Christ." She muttered and rolled her eyes. She left the kitchen and made her way to the front door. As she reached for the door handle, Kieran appeared behind her.  
"Don't want a lift then?" His Irish accent seemed stronger than ever this morning.  
"No, thanks." She said awkwardly.  
"We're going to the same place for fucks sake. I know it'll be awkward with me being your teacher and all, but I'm sure you'll get used to it. And you'll make lots of friends. A pretty girl like you should have no trouble."  
"Erm, thanks." Naomi wasn't used to getting compliments. At her old school, she didn't have many friends. She preferred to be on her own, reading a book, or watching the other children play. She always liked that. She liked being different. She didn't let many people in. And not many people tried. She thought they were all a bunch of tossers anyway. She smiled at Kieran, got on her bike and made her way to the College. She'd had the route memorized when they first moved at the beginning of the summer.

Once she got to College, she immediately noticed how different it was from school. She looked around and took in the people around her. _So these are the people I'm going to be spending the next two years with. Fucking great. _It was clear to Naomi that they all knew each other from middle school. She saw two girls who seemed completely different from one another. One was loud, bubbly and very childlike. The other was quiet, mysterious and seemed wise for her age. Naomi thought that maybe for once, there was someone at this shitty place she could get along with. She managed to hear a bit of their conversation,  
" What 'dya think, Eff? This place is bonkers, ain't it? Blinkin' heck.. I think we're going to have fun here. Don't you think Eff?... Eff? Are you listening? EFFY?" She started poking her friend, who Naomi had gathered to be called Effy, by the amount of times the other, louder girl had said that name.  
"Yeah, it'll be great." Effy said quietly and rather unenthusiastically.  
"Maybe one of the boys will surf and turf me?"  
"Yeah, maybe."  
Naomi liked the fact that Effy didn't say much. But she wasn't ever going to introduce herself. Naomi Campbell didn't want friends. She didn't need them either.  
She carried on walking towards the College when she spotted the most vibrant red hair she had ever seen. The girl turned around. She was very small. Tiny, in fact. And she was very thin, but in an athletic way. Naomi stared at her for longer than she should have. She shook her head and carried on walking. She had a very pretty face. But she looked upset. She looked lost. Naomi wasn't worried about getting lost. She was always very good at finding her way around places. Once, when she was seven, her mum and her had gone shopping, and Naomi had wondered off. She returned to her mother in under five minutes, after looking down all the isles and remembering where everything was, for future reference. When she approached her mum, she looked panicked and relieved at the same time. "Where the fuck did you go?" She had said. "I just went to look." During the rest of their shopping trip, Naomi had continued to point out where everything was, and they were done in ten minutes. Ever since then, Naomi knew she'd have no trouble getting anywhere.  
She found the classroom she was looking for, room 106. Kieran was already in there, unpacking his stuff. She walked in and smiled.  
"Alright _Sir_," she said in a mocking voice, "I'm surprised you managed to stay awake this morning with all the shagging you were doing last night." Normally Kieran would laugh at a joke like that, and make a joke about how at least he was getting more action than her. But instead Kieran grimaced and shot a look to whatever was behind her. Naomi turned around, slightly embarrassed now, and saw the red head standing awkwardly at the door.  
"I was just…erm, this is room 106, isn't it?" She said shyly. She had a raspy, deep voice. Naomi shivered. She'd never heard anyone with a voice like that before. It was so..unique.  
"Yes, come on in. What's your name?" Kieran said cheerily. Naomi knew what he was doing, he was trying to change the subject. He was never very good in awkward situations. Naomi had only known him for a couple of months, yet the amount of awkward situations they had been in together was uncountable. The first was when Naomi walked in on him and Gina having sex. She had heard her mum come in after a long night out, and wanted to check she was okay, as she didn't come in and say goodnight like she normally did. She instantly regretted her short act of kindness. After that incident, the subject of 'sex' wasn't as awkward as it should have been with Kieran and Gina.  
"My name is Emily. Emily Fitch."  
"Well then, Emily, take a seat. Hopefully the rest of the class will join us soon."

Emily sat down in the back row. She started unpacking her things. Naomi decided if ever there was a time to talk to someone, it would be now. She slumped down into the seat next to Emily.  
"He's my mum's boyfriend. I'm not an ignorant bitch. I swear."  
"Oh..okay."  
_Well this is going well. Say something. Keep her talking. _  
"My name's Naomi, by the way."  
"Her full name is Naomi Campbell." Kieran butted in. That earned a giggle from Emily. She had the cutest giggle Naomi had ever heard!  
"Is it really Naomi Campbell?"  
"Yeah, my mum's a bitch, I think she wanted to make my life as hard as possible."  
"Mine's like that too." Emily blushed and looked away.  
"Parents, ay?"  
"Shut the fuck up Kieran, shouldn't you be preparing an ice-breaker or something?"  
"Oh shit. I hadn't thought about that." He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and quickly started scribbling down ideas.  
Naomi looked at the clock. It was five to nine. People would start coming in soon. If she wanted to get to know Emily, now was the time.  
"So…do you know anyone else here?" Naomi asked. Usually she doesn't bother talking to people, but there was something about Emily that made Naomi feel..different. Like she could actually _talk _to her and be interested in what she had to say.  
"Yeah, I know a few people. But they are more Katie's friends than mine."  
"Katie?"  
"My twin." Naomi smiled. Two Fitches. _The fun I could have with them. _She quickly snapped out of her dirty thoughts and started looking at Emily. She looked sad for some reason.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Yeah. Thanks." Naomi knew she was lying, but decided it was best to leave it. She knew what it was like to have people prying. And she didn't like it herself, so why do it to others?

As the clock struck nine am the classroom was filled with all these faces Naomi didn't know. There was just one empty seat.  
"Right, so…hi. My name is Kieran. I'll be your teacher for the next two years. Unless you little shits managed to get me fired." Kieran began. A few people chuckled. Naomi shook her head. _No one else can know he's my mum's boyfriend._ "I'd like to start by getting everyone to stand up and tell us their name and one thing about them." _How original. _Naomi knew Kieran was useless, but this was just ridiculous. "Why don't with start with…you" He pointed at Naomi. "So, what's your name?" He winked at her. But it was so subtle, only Naomi knew he had done it. _You fucking prick. _  
"Hi. My name's Naomi. I just moved here from London. And I already think it's shit." She sat down. The boy in front of her turned around and winked.  
"Good one blondie. You're funny. I like you." He was odd looking. Attractive, but in a 'bad boy' kind of way. He wearing suspenders and a green top. His teeth were a little crooked, which made his smile even cheekier. Naomi just looked at him. _Stay away from him, Naomi. He's bad news.  
_"Alright then, as you're so keen to have your say, what's your name?"  
"The name's Cook, but you can call me whenever." He winked at Naomi. The boy sitting next to him, who looked like he hadn't showered in a while, turned around and mouthed 'sorry' to Naomi. She half-heartedly smiled back. He was annoying, Naomi already knew that, she couldn't imagine what it would be like being his friend. "And I like to fuck girls." Cook said with a huge grin on his face.  
"Cook, come on man, it's our first day, just chill out, yeah?"  
"Sorry Freds." Cook sat down.  
"Good for you." Kieran said sarcastically. "How about you, Emily, was it?" Emily stood up. Her face was almost as red as her hair. She looked nervous.  
"I'm Emily…And..well.. I'm not very interesting."  
"Great." Kieran said and moved on to another helpless victim of his stupid game. Naomi decided to take the chance to talk to Emily.  
"So, you have a twin? Does she go here, or…?" Naomi whispered. Once she said it she immediately regretted it. She could see tears in Emily's eyes.  
"Kieran, I need to go to the toilet." Emily stood up and before he could even reply she ran out of the classroom. Naomi could see she was crying. _Fuck. What did I do?_

The next hour felt like a year. Emily still hadn't come back, and Naomi hadn't paid any attention to what anyone was saying. She was too worried about Emily. _Get a grip. You've never cared before, why care now? What's so different about Emily? _She looked around the classroom. She'd been so busy thinking about Emily, she hadn't realised that she only knew one other person's name. And that person was Cook. She prodded him in the back.  
He turned around and put his arm on her desk,  
"Fancy a bit of the cookie monster, ay babe?"  
"I wouldn't shag you, even if my life depended on it."  
"They all come around to the cookie monster eventually." He looked her up and down and immediately Naomi felt uncomfortable. But she had to find out what was wrong with Emily.  
"Do you..I mean, have you ever spoken to that girl Emily before? The one who was sitting next to me?"  
"Emilio? Yeah. Me and her are mates. Well, we were. I was closer to her sister."  
"You were closer? So you're not now? Did something happen?" Naomi was confused by the tense he was speaking in. She wondered if Cook had tried it on with Emily, and had scared her away. She seemed like the type who would get scared easily.  
"Well yeah. Ever since Katie died, I haven't really spoken to her. I… we, tried to comfort her, but she pushed us all away." Cook, for once, looked ashamed and genuinely upset.  
"Wait, isn't…wasn't Ka-"  
"Naomi, Cook, stop flirting or I'll have to keep you in for lunch." Kieran interrupted. He had a look on his face that said 'don't mess with me', so Naomi decided to leave it..for now. _You HAD to ask about her fucking twin. You've really fucked it up now, Naomi._


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't want to go back. I can't. I miss you so much Katie. Come back. _ Emily stared at herself in the mirror of the girls toilets. She'd been in there for just under an hour. She wiped away another tear that had fallen with an extremely damp tissue. _Come on, Emily, you can do this. Be strong. It's what Katie would have done. _Ever since Katie had died, Emily had become introvert and didn't want talk to anyone. Not even her family. When Katie died, a part of Emily died with her. Emily had watched Katie die, she had been there when it happened. Holding her hand. She had watched the life drain away from her sister. She could remember that whole night so well.  
_"Come on Emily, Freds and JJ are waiting downstairs." Katie stormed into the room she and Emily shared. She was wearing her sluttiest outfit. A leopard print skirt, which was so tight so could barely walk, and a skimpy black top, which showed more than enough of her cleavage.  
"Do we have to go? I don't even like JJ. I know you want to shag Freddie, but for fucks sake don't drag me into this. JJ is..weird."  
"Come on Ems, I thought you were supposed to be the nice one around here." "Please, can you do this for me?" Katie took Emily's hands and stared her in the eyes. "Katie go go nom."  
"Okay, fine. But please stop talking in that stupid language. We haven't done that since we were seven." It may have been nine years since they spoke in their 'secret language', but Emily still knew what that meant. 'I need you.'  
As they walked downstairs she saw Freddie and JJ waiting patiently. She smiled at them.  
"Wow, Emily, you look absolutely fantastic. Incredible. Brilliant. Amaz-"  
"That's enough, JJ." Freddie knew when JJ got locked on. He was good at getting him to stop.  
"Thanks." Emily blushed, usually it was Katie who got all the compliments. On nights out, it would be Katie who got the wolf whistles and the longing stares from every guy in the room. Emily was usually just..in the background.  
"What are we waiting for, let's go. I'm ready to get fucking pissed." Katie grabbed Emily's hand and they all headed to the club. Fake ID's in hand.  
As they got into the club, Katie and Freddie immediately started grinding on the dance floor.  
"Fucking hell." Emily muttered to herself, forgetting that JJ was right next to her.  
"So..do you want me to buy you a drink, m'lady?" Before Emily could answer JJ was off to the bar, ordering a coke for himself and a vodka and coke for Emily. Emily stood and sipped at her drink. It was stronger than she had expected, and she grimaced at the taste. She watched Freddie and Katie dancing ridiculously close to each other. They'd always had a chemistry between each other, but Effy kept getting in the way. She was in love with Freddie. She always had been since Emily could remember. They'd all known each other since primary school. Katie and Freddie were always playing kiss chase in the playground. Emily would watch Effy, glaring at them with her icy blue eyes. There was something about Effy that made Emily shiver. Effy and Katie hated each other. Which meant that Emily had to hate Effy as well? Not many people liked Effy, she was too mysterious and secretive. Sometimes Emily wondered if she knew her secret, because of the way Effy looked at her. No one knew Emily's secret. Not even Katie.  
"…57% of people actually prefer to drink before going out to a club, so they get considerably more drunk, at half the price." Emily didn't realise JJ had been talking to her.  
"Yeah, that's cool." JJ always went on and on about things other people had no interest in. At half twelve Emily was ready to leave the club. But Katie had other ideas. It got to quarter past one and  
eventually they decided to leave. Everyone was considerably sober. Everyone except for Katie. As they walked out of the club, Katie lost her shoe. She stumbled down to pick it up, she was bending down in the middle of the road and Emily, Freddie and JJ had all walked on ahead.  
"Come on Katie, we haven't got all day." Freddie called from the other side of the road. He was high as fuck, of course. As Katie bent down, a car came speeding down the road. It didn't slow down. In fact, Emily was sure it sped up. Like the driver was gunning for Katie.  
"KATIE!" She screamed. "WATCH OUT!" Katie looked up at Emily, and in a second she was being flung over the car, as she landed on the floor, the car sped off. Katie lay on the floor. A pool of blood forming by her head. Emily ran over and sat by her sister. Tears rolling down her face.  
"Katie, can you hear me?!" "CALL A FUCKING AMBULANCE!" She screamed to Freddie and JJ. She cradled her sister's head in her lap. "Everything's going to be fine." She whispered, rocking back and forth.  
"Em..I..I...I don't feel very good." Katie stuttered.  
"Everything's going to be fine." Emily repeated. But even as she said those words she knew it was a lie.  
"I'm s-sorry for treating you badly" Katie took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to open them again. Emily took hold of Katie's hand.  
"Katie, don't. I'd never change the times we had together. You're the best sister I could ever ask for. Please, don't die Katie." Emily was trying to be strong for her sister, she took her hand and squeezed it. "Just keep talking to me, don't let go of my hand, Katie. I'm here. I'll never leave you."  
"Remember when mum caught me smoking in our room?" Emily was try to choke back the tears that were stinging her eyes. Katie nodded. "And you told her that it was you. Mum was shouting at you and threatening to ground you, but you didn't care. You just stood there. And as you went up to our room, you winked at me. That was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. You protected me. You've always been there to protect me…Do you remember that, Katie?"  
Katie didn't reply. Her eyes started to close, her mouth filling with blood. Katie whispered "I love you" and her eyes were closed. She went was still.  
"Katie. Please. Don't go.. Katie. I love you. Please, don't die. What am I supposed to do without you?" Emily started sobbing uncontrollably."Emsy go go nom."  
_Emily blinked, letting a single tear fall down her cheek. The memory of her sister's death was still so real. She tried not to think about it, but the memory was always there. She'd sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, screaming. Her parents would come in and try and comfort her, but it was no use. She didn't want them. She wanted Katie. She spent her whole life in Katie's shadow and even though she resented her, she loved her more than anyone in the world. She was her twin. They had a special bond that could never be formed with anyone else. Even though Katie was a bitch, she helped Emily and she was there when no one else was. They weren't just twins, they were best friends. _Katie, if you can hear me, please tell me what to do. I'm so scared. I miss you so much. _  
Emily straightened herself up, and looked in the mirror again. Her makeup was a mess. But she didn't care. She threw the tissue away, and went back to the classroom. She knew how people would react when they saw her. She was Emily Fucking Fitch, and from now on, she would be more like Katie. It's what Katie would have wanted. _Be brave. _She told herself. _You can do this. _


	3. Chapter 3

Naomi turned around as she heard the door open. It was Emily. Her makeup was a mess. She looked like she'd been crying for hours. _Fuck. _Emily took the seat next to Naomi again. She kept her eyes on the floor. No one said anything, not even Kieran. Everyone in the class carried on as if nothing had happened. But Naomi couldn't do that. There was an elephant in the room and she had to be the one to point it out.  
"Listen, Emily, I'm really sorry about what happened. I wouldn't have asked if I'd have known what…happened."  
"It's okay." Emily said, she didn't bother to look up at Naomi, she just kept doodling the letter K on her piece of paper.  
"Kieran has asked us all to write down what we'd like to do after we leave College. I don't even know what I want for lunch, let alone what I want to do after College!" Naomi was never very good at small talk. She never had the need to be. But at that moment she couldn't stop herself from blabbering on and on.  
"Do you have any ideas? What do you want to do?" Naomi continued.  
"I dunno." Getting Emily to talk was harder than Naomi thought it would be. _Give up, Naomi, she's obviously not very happy. Why are you so persistent on getting her to talk?  
_Another hour past by slowly, and after they had all gotten to know each other and figured out what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives, it was time for break. Naomi packed up her stuff and asked Emily if she wanted to grab a coffee from the canteen with her. Emily just shook her head and left without saying another word.  
"Ay babe, she might not want to get a coffee with you, but I will." Cook was standing right beside Naomi. An overwhelming stench of vodka coming from his breath.  
"Listen, Cook, I'm never going to shag someone with a cock as tiny as yours, okay?"  
"Woah, babe, I was just talkin' 'bout coffee. But if you're up for some sexy times I ca-"  
"Can you just leave me alone?" She interrupted before he could finish his crude comment. She was getting fed up with his inappropriate comments and behaviour. She'd only known him for a couple of hours and already she was tired of his bullshit. _It's going to be a LONG two years._  
"Whatever Naomi-kins. Hey Freds, fancy a spliff?" And with that Cook and Freddie left Naomi alone. She was so caught up in the conversation she hadn't noticed that everyone else in the classroom had left. She was on her own. Even Kieran had managed to sneak out without her realising. But as she was leaving the room, she heard two people shouting at each other.  
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY YOU STUPID BITCH!"  
Naomi walked towards the commotion. She was surprised to see Emily being restrained by some kid.  
"JJ, let go of me. Leave me alone. Everyone just leave me alone!" Emily was thrashing her arms and legs trying to get out of JJ's grip. Naomi saw Effy smirk, wink at Emily and leave. Emily screamed at her and punched JJ in the eye whilst trying to escape from him. He stumbled back in agony. Emily ran past the crowd that had now formed, and straight into the girls toilets. Naomi didn't know whether to go in and see if she was okay, or leave her because she was clearly pissed off. She decided to go to the canteen and grab two cups of coffee. She made her way to the toilets. As she approached she heard sobbing. She went inside and saw Emily staring at herself in the mirror. Tears staining her cheeks.  
"Erm. Hi. I just thought you could maybe..use some coffee or something?" Naomi handed Emily the cup and stood next to next to her, watching their reflections as they stood awkwardly togther.  
"Thanks." Emily, for the first time since they had met, looked Naomi in the eyes and gave her a half-hearted smile.  
"I'm not going to force you to tell me anything or talk to me, but if you ever want someone to talk too, I'm here. I know I don't know you very well, but I know what it's like dealing with death."  
"You do?" Emily looked up at Naomi with concern in her eyes, her eyes filled with tears and watched as Emily blinked and a single tear slipped down her face.  
"Yeah. I used to have a brother. Well, a half-brother. He was fourteen years older than me. My mum used to shag around a lot. She had him when she was only 15. When I was five he developed cancer and eventually, a few months later, he died. He was in hospital weeks before my birthday. When I went to visit him he promised he would be there for my party, he promised to dress up like a clown and make balloon animals, just like he used to do. But he never came back. The day I turned six he died. I'll always remember the way he used to hold my hand when my mum would go missing for days on end. He would take me to bed and sing Our Story by Graham Colton. I loved him more than I had ever loved anyone, even my own mother. When he died my mum freaked out and started doing crazy shit. I had to look after her, I had to be strong for her. I was only six. I had to grow up fast. By the age of ten I was running the house and getting Gina back on track. It was hard, but we made it through." Naomi took Emily's hand. She knew how forward she was being, and it was completely unlike her, yet it felt…right.  
"What did your mum do when she..freaked out?"  
"She went crazy. She smashed up the house. She would go out drinking and come back with different men every night. During the day she would lie on the sofa. She'd only move to go to the toilet. I had to feed her, shower her and take care of the house." Naomi realised that she was crying. She went to get some tissue for herself and Emily.  
"I'm sorry to hear about that. I didn't realise you went through su-"  
The bell rang out interrupting Emily and making both of them jump.  
"Well, I guess we better head back to class. I'm pretty sure Kieran's got something exciting planned." Naomi said sarcastically, wiping away the tears. As they headed back to the classroom they passed Effy and her loud friend on the way.  
"So, what's the deal with you and Effy?" Naomi knew it was a touchy subject, but her curiosity was killing her.  
"Her and Katie hated each other. They were always arguing and fighting. I never got involved because Kate liked picking fights. But when Katie died, and we were at her funeral, Effy came in...We allowed it because we thought she was showing some respect. But when everyone was leaving I heard Effy say to Pandora 'I wonder if Katie got into heaven by giving God a blowjob.' And I lost it. I started attacking her. Her face was just so smug. The look she had on her face. It was like she had..won. Like it was a game to her."  
"Pandora? Is that the loud one who's always talking?"  
"Yeah, she's like Effy's bitch. She follows her everywhere." Emily glanced behind them and glared at Pandora.  
"Effy sounds like a bitch. But now I'm here. If she ever gives you any shit, come to me and I'll protect you. I won't let her get away with that. If she ever comes near me I swear to God she'll regret it."  
"Thanks." Emily smiled. And it seemed like a genuine smile that made Naomi's heart melt.  
Emily took hold of Naomi's pinky finger with her own and led her through the door of room 106.


	4. Chapter 4

They entered the room with their pinkies still interlocked. As they sat down in their chairs, they heard a giggle behind them. Emily turned around. It was Cook.  
"Cook, do you think you could be a cunt somewhere else?"  
"Woah Emilio, I like 'em feisty babes, but you're taking it to a whole new level." Cook chuckled and sauntered over to his seat, Freddie in toe.  
"Em, just ignore him." Naomi squeezed Emily's pinky with her own. Emily felt her heart flutter. She looked up at her, and she knew Naomi could see the pain in her eyes.  
"What wrong?" Naomi asked, hoping Emily wouldn't start crying in front of everyone.  
"It's just..Katie..she used to call me Em."  
"Oh fuck. Sorry. I'm such a tit. I can call you Emily if you want? Or something else?"  
"No, it's fine. No one has called me Em since Katie died. It's just weird hearing someone call me it again. But it's nice." Emily took hold of Naomi's hand under the table. During the rest of the lesson, Kieran droned on and on about the perks of picking psychology and how it will benefit them in the future. Emily wanted to talk to Naomi, but decided it was too quiet to actually have a conversation, so she opted for scribbling on Naomi's piece of paper.  
'I no he's ur step dad but this is so boring.' Emily wrote, nudging Naomi's arm so she'd notice. They both smirked.  
'1. He's not my step dad and 2. Ur right it IS boring. Fancy skipping after lunch n going back 2 mine?' Naomi knew it was risky, but she wanted to cheer Emily up after what had happened, and there was no way she was going to do that here.  
'Sure :)' Emily replied. They sat in silence for the rest of the hour, watching the clock, waiting for the lesson to end. As the lunch bell rang they both packed up their things and ran out of there faster than they thought possible. They arrived at the front of the school, where Naomi's bike was parked.  
"Hmm, we didn't really think this through, did we?" Naomi said, looking at her bike, then at Emily, then back at her bike.  
"I could sit on the handlebar, if you can manage that?" She didn't know whether Naomi thought she was joking or not. Hell, she didn't even know herself.  
"I _might _be able to manage that." Naomi said with a wink. And they set off towards Naomi's house. Wobbling every time they turned a corner. Naomi had to crane her neck round Emily's body to see where she was going. Emily had to steady herself by putting her hands on the handlebar of the bike. She accidentally put them on top of Naomi's, but Naomi didn't complain, so she kept them there for the duration of the journey.  
When they finally arrived at Naomi's house, Emily got off and groaned.  
"Jesus, you didn't enjoy that, did you?"  
"No!" Emily said blushing. "In fact I think my lady garden is permanently damaged after that!"  
"Your lady garden?" They both burst into laughter and made their way into Naomi's house. Naomi showed Emily around, showing her the clustered house she now called home. Finally, Naomi decided to take Emily to her room. They sat down on Naomi's bed.  
"Next time I'll bring my moped to College to make things easier." Emily suggested.  
"Oh so there's going to be a next time?" Emily knew Naomi was flirting, but Emily didn't mind.  
"No, I'm not saying that..I just mean…well.." Emily started to stumble on her words.  
"I'm kidding, Ems. Of course there's going to be a next time." They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Emily wondered if she should suggest they go back to College, but Naomi interrupted her thought.  
"So, tell me about Katie then."  
"She was..different." Emily began "I used to follow her around like a shadow. She would boss me about and I'd do whatever she said without question. She got all the boys. She got everything she wanted. She was a spoilt bitch. But I loved her. Even though she treated me like shit, I still think she was amazing. She was brave, strong, clever and pretty. She would listen to all my problems and try to help me. She didn't mind the fact that I'm gay. She'd make jokes, but they were never malicious. And if someone would make a bitchy comment, she'd go ape shit and start shouting at them. She was an amazing sister. I miss her so much."  
"I think she sounds like a right character."  
"She really was." Emily said. This was the first time since Katie's death that Emily had spoken about her and not cried.  
"So…you're gay, huh?!" Emily could hear the hopefulness in her voice.  
"Yeah. I like the ladies, me." There was a pause. "Are you..I mean, do you like..erm..girls?" Emily was feeling awkward again and she could feel her face going bright red.  
"I don't believe in labels, but yes, in a way I do like girls. I think you love whoever you love. You can't help who you fall in love with. If I fall in love with a boy, great. If I fall in love with a girl, fantastic. Gender isn't important…Have you ever been in love?" Naomi asked. Emily felt like she was being interviewed, but she continued to answer, as she was warming to Naomi the more time she spent with her.  
"No. Katie got all the attention. No one ever noticed me, and I never noticed anyone. Although… There was a girl called Mandy…I thought maybe we could have had something, we'd flit and kiss a little, but she moved to Manchester. And I haven't heard from her since. What about you?"  
"Nope. Never even been close. I don't tend to have 'relationships' with people. I like to keep myself to myself."  
"So why're you talking to me then? What's so different about me?" Emily wondered if maybe Naomi was just feeling sorry for her.  
"I'm not sure. You're different. There's something about you that attracts me to you. I'm drawn towards you in a way that I can't explain. You're special, I guess." Now it was Naomi's turn to look embarrassed and stare at her feet.  
"Thanks. No one's ever said that to me before." They sat in silence, yet again. Emily got up and started looking around Naomi's room.  
"Go ahead, take a look. I've got nothing to hide. Just don't look in my bottom drawer, that's where my porn stash is!" Naomi winked at Emily, who giggled. _Don't look in that drawer. She was probably joking but you don't want things to get anymore awkward than they are now. _Naomi noticed Emily had stopped searching her room.  
"Penny for your thoughts?"  
"I was just thinking…your room is lovely. Oh, you've got a lock on your door? Your mum must respect you?" Emily traced the outline of the door handle with her fingers. She wondered what it would be like to have some privacy. After sharing a room with Katie for fifteen years, she had forgotten what it was like to have her own room when Katie died. She thought she would get some privacy, but her mum decided to take away her door, which was completely ridiculous, because she couldn't even get changed in her own room without her brother James trying to perv on her. Emily's thoughts flashed back to when she and Katie shared a room.  
_"Em, Em, open the door. What the fuck are you doing in there?" It was Katie. She was banging on the door. Emily had shoved a chair in front of it to keep her out, but Katie clearly wasn't getting the hint. Emily took her fingers out of her trousers and sat up.  
"Leave me alone, Katie." She placed the picture of Megan Fox in her secret box and rubbed her hand on her duvet. Katie continued banging on the door. This time when she spoke, it was in a quieter voice.  
"Listen, lezza, if you've got a girl in there, you better get her out before I knock this door down." Even though Emily couldn't see her sister, she knew she was laughing to herself.  
"One second.." Emily pushed the box under her bed and removed the chair from the door.  
"Em, I'm not stupid, I know what you were doing. Don't worry, I won't tell mum, but don't do it when I'm here. It's disgusting!"  
"Oh what and you shagging Cook in my bed isn't?" Emily stared Katie in the eyes. She had suddenly gained a boost of confidence.  
"What the fuck? How did you find out about that?" Emily could see Katie was starting to panic.  
"Cook told me when he was pissed. Why would you fuck in MY bed? Yours is right next to it!"  
"I was drunk. I forgot which bed was mine." Katie's voice was quiet and she looked embarrassed.  
"THAT'S NO EXCUSE FOR FUCKING IN MY BED!" Emily was shouting now, she didn't realise how angry she was about it until now.  
"Listen, will you keep your voice down? I don't want mum and dad knowing that I'm not a virgin anymore."  
"Well maybe you should have thought about that before you brought Cook home. I mean really, COOK?" She knew she was being over the top now, but she didn't care. This was the first time she had ever stood up to Katie, and she wasn't about to back down now.  
"I told you, we were drunk. Neither of us had pulled and we wanted a shag. We didn't do anything wrong."  
"Was this before or after he broke up with Effy?" Emily could feel her confidence growing, and she could see by the look on Katie's face that hers was rapidly decreasing.  
"Whatever." Katie stormed out of the bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Emily smiled. She didn't know why she was smiling. Maybe it was because she had finally stood up to Katie. All she knew was that from now on, Katie would mind her own business when the door was wedged shut._

Emily snapped out of her flash back. She wondered if other people lived in the past as much as she did. Then she remembered Naomi's brother.  
"Did you and your brother ever argue?" Emily said, searching through Naomi's wardrobe and raising her eyebrow at her choice in clothes.  
"No, not really. But that was probably because of the age difference. He was so much older than me, he became more like a father figure towards the end. I had more respect for him than I had for anyone."  
"That must have been nice." Emily wondered what it would have been like to actually get on with your sibling. When Katie died, the first thing Emily regretted was all the things she never said to her. She should have stuck up for herself more. _It's too late now. _  
"You want to come and sit down yet, or are you determined to judge ALL my clothes?" Naomi patted the empty space next to her on the bed.  
"Yeah, sorry." Emily made her way back to the bed. When she sat down, Naomi took hold of her hand, she immediately recoiled and apologized.  
"Oh god sorry. That was so inappropriate."  
"No, it's fine. Don't worry." Emily said, taking Naomi's hand again and giving it a squeeze to reassure her. Things were moving fast for the both of them, but Emily didn't mind. She needed someone. And that someone happened to be Naomi.  
"Listen, Em, I-" Naomi was cut off as Emily leant forward and kissed Naomi on the lips. It only last a couple of second, but Emily could feel the butterflies in her stomach going crazy, and as she pulled away, her lips tingled. She smiled.  
"Sorry. I needed to do that." Emily said shyly.  
Naomi blinked.  
"No..I..err..I enjoyed it." Naomi bit her bottom lip and looked at the floor. "It's just…I've never kissed anyone before."  
"Not even a boy?" Emily asked, a little shocked. Naomi was gorgeous and the fact she hadn't kissed anyone made Emily feel nervous, yet happy that she was the first person Naomi had kissed.  
"No. I told you, I don't get on well with people. But if that's what all kisses are like, maybe I should start trying harder to conform and make friends and shit." Emily licked her lips and laughed. She checked her watched. It was quarter past four. She was supposed to be home by half four.  
"Shit. I've got to go. Mum'll go crazy if I don't get home by half four. She's paranoid that if I don't turn up exactly on time, something will have happened to me. Sorry."  
As Emily got up Naomi asked, "Can I at least get your number so I can call you later or something?"  
"Sure." Emily looked around the room for a pen. She found a sharpie on the floor and took hold of Naomi's hand. She started scribbling her number down.  
"Thank you, Naomi, I had fun." She gave Naomi a kiss on the cheek and ran down the stairs and out the door before Naomi could really take in what had happened. Emily shut the door, leant against it and sighed. Then she smiled. For once she felt happy. Really, really happy.


	5. Chapter 5

Naomi sat back on her bed. She smiled to herself. _Emily kissed me. She actually KISSED me. _She suddenly remembered her hand. She looked at it and smiled. She started tracing the numbers that were written on her skin. Naomi got up to get her phone and saw she had a message.  
'Will be late today, feed urself, mum x' Naomi sighed. Another meal for one. She had no idea where Kieran was_. Shouldn't he be home by now?_ She decided to ignore it and revel in the silence she had become accustomed to. She added Emily's number to her phone and texted her. 'Thanks 4 coming round today, I had fun. Hope you did 2. C u tomorrow xx (It's Naomi btw)' _Wait, will two kisses look too eager? No. Two is fine. _She sat back down on her bed. _Why are you suddenly paranoid about how many x's you should put on a text? You've changed, Naomi Campbell. _Sometimes Naomi wondered if she could ever go a day without the voice in her head. "Shit, I should probably wash this off." She said to herself. "Great, now I'm talking to myself." She laughed to herself and got up to go to the bathroom. She turned the tap on and started scrubbing at her arm, trying to get the number to wash off. She didn't want to wash it off, but she knew her mum would ask questions. It wasn't budging. She scrubbed harder. _What the fuck did Emily write this in? _It wasn't even fading. Naomi rolled her eyes and went back to her room. _Guess I'll have to wear a long sleeve top tomorrow then. _She heard her phone vibrate from her bed, she practically ran to pick it up. It was a text from Emily. She hovered her thumb over the 'read' button. She pressed it. She could feel her heart racing and butterflies in her stomach. She read the text and smiled.  
'No problem, Miss Campbell. Thnx for cheering me up. Good luck gettin that sharpie off ;) xxx' "Bitch" Naomi muttered to herself. She threw her phone on the bed and headed downstairs for dinner. Even though it was only half five she was extremely hungry and needed food. She walked into the kitchen and searched through the fridge. _Half a pint of off milk, two readymade meals and a bottle of wine. Great parenting, Gina. _She took out one of the readymade meals and stuck it in the microwave. As she was waiting she heard the front door open. "Mum?"  
"No, just me." Kieran said, sneaking up behind Naomi and scaring the shit out of her.  
"Jesus, you scared me." Naomi took out her meal and sat down at the table.  
"So, Naomi, want to tell me where you were today? You and Emily seemed to be missing from class after lunch." Kieran was smirking to himself. He knew that this conversation was making Naomi uncomfortable.  
"Yeah, sorry, umm, Emily wasn't feeling well so I said she could come here and relax for a bit. I thought you wouldn't mind, seeing as we weren't even learning anything today."  
"Hmm, I see. Well, next time at least let me know. So..did you and Emily have fun?" Kieran winked at her. Naomi fidgeted in her seat.  
"Yeah. We just sat and watched a film, and then she had to leave."  
"Was it a romantic or scary film? Knowing you, you probably put on a horror movie to scare her into your arms."  
"Fuck off Kieran." Naomi started shovelling her food into her mouth and glaring at him. "Do you know where mum is? I got a text saying she'll be late, but she didn't say why." Naomi asked, still fiercely chewing her dinner.  
"I have no idea where she is. I'll give her a call."  
Naomi finished off her food and went upstairs. She got out her books and re-read the messages her and Emily had been exchanging. She started doodling hearts across the page.  
A couple of hours later she heard the front door slam shut. She took her headphones out and went downstairs.  
"Mum? Is that you?" She called into the darkness.  
"Naomi, darling, why aren't you in bed?" Gina was wobbling slightly. She took hold of the door as she slipped off her shoes.  
"Are you drunk?" Naomi could feel the tears forming. She knew what her mum was like when she was drunk.  
"No. No. Nooo. Me and some of the friends went out for a drink." Her mum slurred.  
"You don't have any friends."  
"Sure I do. I have friends of lots. Wait- I mean…I have lots of friends." She started laughing and lost her balance and fell on the floor. Naomi bent down to help her up.  
"Come on mum, let's get you to bed. You've got to be quiet though, Kieran fell asleep on the sofa."  
"I don't need your help." She pushed Naomi away. Naomi stood still. She was shocked.  
"Mum, please, don't do this. Just go to bed." She tried to help her mum up again but Gina stood up by herself.  
"Don't tell me what to do, I'm YOUR mother, remember?" Naomi knew Gina was getting angry, but she was too angry herself to care.  
"Whatever. Do what you want. Did you have fun shagging another random man off the street?" Before she knew what was happening, Gina's hand was coming towards her face. She slapped Naomi's cheek. Hard. Naomi grabbed her cheek and started sobbing. She ran upstairs and slammed the door. "FUCK YOU" She screamed as she started throwing her clothes on the floor and smashing everything in sight. "FUCK YOU" She screamed again. She started tearing up the paper that she and Emily had exchanged a conversation on. She could hear Kieran downstairs, trying to calm Gina down. She grabbed her phone and climbed out the window. She'd never snuck out before, but she managed to get hold of the tree next to her room and make her way down. When her feet touched the floor she started running. She didn't know where she was going. She just knew she wanted to get out of there. Tears were streaming down her face as she ran faster and faster. _Go home, Naomi. You're being pathetic now. _"FUCK OFF!" She shouted. People were starting to stare at her now. A lady walking her dog stopped and looked at her. Naomi didn't care. _Let them stare all they want. _She thought. She continued running until she didn't know where she was. She stopped to catch her breath. She put her hands on her knees and started panting. She looked around. She'd never been here before, she had only been to a few parts of town, and this part seemed like a foreign country to her. She was grateful that she took her phone with her as she searched through her contacts. _Who the fuck should I call? _Then she stopped by Emily's name. It was 11pm and Emily would probably be in bed. _Fuck it. _She pressed the call button and put the phone to hear ear. It rang. It continued to ring and just as Naomi was about to hang up she heard a voice.  
"Hello?" The voice sounded tired and hoarse. But it was definitely Emily.  
"Listen, Emily, I'm sorry for waking you up, it's just..I'm in trouble. I don't know where I am and I've had an argument with my mum. I didn't know who else to call. I don't have anyone's number in this fucking town, and I'm really scared and-"  
"Woah, Naomi, calm down." Emily interrupted her. Naomi could hear Emily getting out of bed and it sounded like she was getting dressed. "Do you know what road you're on? Are there any details that could give me a hint to where you are?" Naomi looked around.  
"I'm by a church..I think there's a park nearby. And…" Naomi looked around, "There's a pub a few doors down...Does that help?"  
"Yeah, I know that pub, me and Katie used to-"She stopped. Naomi could hear her take a deep breath in. "Stay there. I'm coming to get you." Emily hung up.  
"Thank you." Naomi shut her phone and stood by the church. She didn't realise how cold it was. She started shivering. She sat down on the pavement and huddled into herself. It was no use, she was still freezing. She looked at her phone, she didn't know how long Emily would take, but she hoped it wouldn't be long.  
Fifteen minutes later she heard what sounded like a really fucked up car coming down the street. She looked around but all she could see was a bright white light coming towards her. It stopped next to her and as her eyes adjusted to the sudden change, she realised it was Emily.  
"Hop on" Emily said tapping the seat behind her. She had a spare helmet in her hand.  
"You can't be serious? You want me to get on your moped? It's fucking orange!" Naomi knew she was being cheeky, but she knew how dangerous these things were and how embarrassed she'd be if someone saw her. She had heard so many horror stories about young teenagers getting into accidents because of their recklessness.  
"Suit yourself, have fun getting home." Emily teased. Naomi decided to put her worries and pride behind her and got on. As she was putting on the helmet she heard Emily say "hold on tight" and they were off.  
As they sped down the roads, Naomi tried to take in her surroundings so she wouldn't get lost again. Naomi Campbell didn't get lost. She hugged closer to Emily, trying to keep warm and so she didn't fall off. They started slowing down and stopped at a rather extravagant house.  
"Wow. Nice place." Naomi said. She was jealous that her house wasn't as big and fancy as Emily's.  
"Fuck off." Emily said playfully and shoved Naomi. She got out her keys and they both snuck into her house. It was too dark for Naomi to see much, but she could tell it was nicely furnished and posh. Emily took Naomi's hand and led her up to her room and they sat down on her bed.  
"I would say you could sleep in Katie's bed, but you're so cold, I think you need my body heat to keep you warm." Emily said, half joking.  
"I'm glad you suggested that." Naomi smiled. They both climbed into Emily's bed, not bothering to change or brush their teeth. Naomi cuddled up to Emily, Emily's head in the crook of Naomi's neck. She started stroking Emily's hair. It felt so natural when it came to Emily.  
"So..do you want to tell me what happened?" Emily asked. Naomi could tell she was reserved about asking. Naomi sighed.  
"You remember when I told you my mum went crazy and started drinking loads after my brother died?" She could feel Emily nod, so she continued. "Well, she went out drinking tonight. She came back completely pissed and we got into a bit of an argument and…she slapped me." Emily gasped.  
"Fuck. Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, my cheek was a little sore, but adrenaline kicked in and now it's not too bad." Naomi rubbed her cheek hoping to get a little sympathy from Emily. Emily leaned up and kissed her cheek.  
"Much better." Naomi smiled.  
"I'm sorry to hear about your mum. I'm sure you'll sort things out tomorrow?" Emily's positivity was cute. But Naomi knew her mother too well.  
She sighed again." I'm not sure. This time she's gone too far and I don't know if I can fix her again. Kieran will try, but he'll get bored. He'll give up on her. They all do eventually. I'm so tired of having to look after her. I've got my own problems and…she didn't just lose a son that night. I lost a brother."  
"I know." Emily said sympathetically. "Do you want to stay here for a couple of days? Sort your head out?"  
"That would be great, thank you. I'll need to go home to get some clothes but I can do that during College when she's at work. Thank you so much. Are you sure your parents will be okay with it?" Naomi remembered Emily telling her about her mum. Naomi was sceptical of her already and they hadn't even met.  
"You mean my mum? She'll be fine. I'll tell her you're sleeping on the floor. She likes to make a big fuss about people, so just play along. But..she doesn't know that I'm gay. So could you, maybe, not tell her?" Emily was staring into Naomi's eyes.  
"No problem." Naomi said and kissed the top of Emily's head. They lay cuddled up in bed together for the rest of the night. Naomi woke up to find she was alone in the bed. The door opened and Emily came inside. She was already showered and about to get dressed. She was standing in front of her wardrobe in a towel. Naomi found herself looking at Emily and biting her bottom lip. Emily turned around.  
"I was going to wait for you to wake up so we could have a shower together, you know, for global purposes, but I thought my mum might find it a bit suspicious." Emily said with a cheeky grin on her face.  
"Damn, and there I was hoping to maybe one day save the planet. You're not helping here, Miss Fitch." Naomi got out of bed and made her way towards the bathroom.  
"It's just down the hall and to the left. And watch out for James. He likes to look through the hole in the door handle and spy on people.  
"Jesus." Naomi said. She made her way to the bathroom. She locked the door. Then double checked that it was in fact locked. She hung a towel over the hole in the door handle. As she took off her clothes, she noticed the cabinet above the sink was open. There were bottles with all sorts of pills inside. She took one of them and read the label and sighed. They were antidepressants. Naomi knew all about them. When her mum was on them, she would be happy one minute, and a complete bitch the next. She put them back and had her shower, hoping that Emily didn't take the antidepressants anymore.  
After her shower Naomi made her way back into Emily's room. She walked in to find Emily lying on the bed reading a magazine. Naomi picked her clothes up off the floor and put them back on. She saw Emily have a little peak as she dropped her towel. Once they were both decent they made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. Naomi felt nervous. She was already meeting Emily's parents and they hadn't even slept together…Yet.  
"Rob can you please just eat your breakfast. You can work on your new toy later." Naomi heard a shrill, Scottish voice coming from the kitchen.  
"It's not a toy. It's the future. It's the Get Fit-ch machine." Naomi noticed his accent was from Liverpool. _What a weird pair. _She thought. They got to the kitchen and immediately Emily's mum had a smile plastered on her face. She had long dark hair and brown eyes, like Emily's. Although Emily didn't resemble her at all. In fact, Naomi thought they couldn't look more different if they tried.  
"Emily, who is this?" She said. The creepy smile on her face growing bigger as she stared at Naomi.  
"This is Naomi. She's a friend. From College. She…needed somewhere to stay last night so I let her crash on the floor." Emily grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and offered Naomi one. Naomi shook her head. She felt too sick to eat at the moment.  
"You made a friend, well done dear!" Rob said, smiling at Emily.  
"Rob please. Emily, you know how I feel about this sort of thing. You've got to tell me when you leave the house, or if there's anyone staying over."  
"Sorry mum. It won't happen again." Emily said. Naomi smiled awkwardly.  
"Sorry, it's my fault, Mrs Fitch. I couldn't stay at home last night. Emily saved me from sleeping on the streets." Naomi said apologetically.  
"Oh, well..still, I think you should tell me, Emily. You know how I feel about secrets."  
"Yes mum." Emily grabbed Naomi's arm. As they were about to leave Naomi heard a voice from the table.  
"You can sleep in my bed if you want." She turned around. _That must be James._ She thought to herself. He was only about twelve.  
"Rob, are you going to let him speak like that? Do something."  
"Yes dear. Son, that'll be 20 press ups. Go."  
"But daaaad…" James moaned.  
"DO IT." Rob said loudly, but not aggressively.  
"Quick, let's leave before mum tries to interrogate you." Emily whispered in Naomi's ear and dragged her out the kitchen and to the front door.  
"Emily..Emily..Aren't you going to eat breakfast? EMILY?" Naomi heard Emily's mum calling after them from the kitchen.  
"They seem…nice." Naomi said grinning at Emily.  
"Don't..they're twats." Emily said taking hold of Naomi's hand and leading her out the front door. They got on Emily's moped and made their way to College. On the way Naomi started wondering what Kieran would say when they got in. _He's going to be pissed at me for leaving. Maybe he's already given up on Gina. What if…What if he's left her..us? What if he never comes back? I can't look after her again. Fuck. _Naomi decided that she would cross that bridge when she got to it. For now, she'd enjoy being pressed up against Emily.


	6. Chapter 6

**AU: Naomi's brother is called Ryan. It will come up. Sorry for the rushed story. I'm very tired and work and stuff is getting in the way. But I hope you enjoy it despite of that. Thanks for everyone reading. I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE. If you could review that would be awesome too. Thanks you little fuck buckets **

Naomi woke up. Her head was throbbing. She opened her eyes. She looked around. _Where the fuck am I? What the fuck is that beeping noise?_ As her eyes adjusted to the light, she realised that she was in a hospital. She blinked and tried to move her arm. Pain shot through her body. "Fuck!" She screamed. A nurse came running in.  
"Naomi, oh, thank goodness you're awake. Are you okay?"  
"W-where a-am I?" Naomi stuttered.  
"You're in hospital. You've been here for three days now."  
"Oh. Shit. Wh-what happened? H-how did I get here?"  
"You don't remember? You were in a car accident, dear. A car came speeding out of nowhere and tried to knock you down. Luckily someone pushed you out of the way..unfortunately a moped fell on you and crushed your arm. You hit your head pretty hard. You've been in a very deep sleep for the past few days. We've been very worried about you, Naomi." The nurse said.  
"Who pushed me out of the way?" Naomi's eyes still weren't focused properly, but she could see a figure coming towards her.  
"It was Emily, sweetheart." The voice said.  
"Mum?"  
"Hi darling. I'm so glad you're awake. I thought…I thought you weren't going to make it. I was so worried." Gina looked exhausted. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. She probably hadn't.  
"So you care about me now then?" Naomi said. She closed her eyes. The pain in her arm was excruciating and her head felt so heavy and foggy. The last time she had spoken to Gina it hadn't ended well.  
"Honey, you know I love you so much and if anything ever happened to you, well, I couldn't bare that. I'm sorry I'm so fucked up. I'm sorry I've made your life hell. But this has opened my eyes. I'm going to start trying harder. I'm going to be a proper mum. Kieran's going to help me. I'm so sorry Naomi." She started sobbing into Naomi's shoulder. Naomi put her good arm around her mum and tried to comfort her.  
"It's okay." She whispered. They sat like that until Naomi's arm got tired and she had to rest it. Naomi suddenly remembered something her mother had said.  
"Wait…Emily pushed me out of the way?"  
"Yes dear."  
"Who's Emily..?" Naomi recognized the name but she couldn't picture anyone. She looked up as a doctor with red hair came in.  
"Naomi, I heard you'd woken up. How're you feeling?" The doctor was tall and slim, and had obviously dyed red hair, which Naomi thought looked ridiculous.  
"She doesn't remember who Emily is." Gina said. Naomi looked at her mother.  
"Who the fuck is Emily and why don't I remember her?" Naomi's eyes darted from the doctor to her mother. She had no idea what was going on, yet all she wanted to do was sleep.  
"Emily Fitch? You were with her when the car came crashing into you. You were both about to get hit by the car when Emily pushed you out of the way. She was too slow to save herself. The impact of the car on her body was incredible. I'm amazed she's still alive…for now. Naomi, Emily saved your life. If it weren't for her..." She trailed off, with a sympathetic look on her face.  
"Why the fuck don't I remember this girl? Mum, what's wrong with me? Why won't my head work?" Naomi started crying.  
"I'm sure it'll all come back to you. Maybe if you see her it'll refresh your memory?" Gina was trying to calm her down but it wasn't working.  
"Why can't I remember her? Why can't I remember the person who saved my fucking life?" She took a deep breath. "So..she's still alive?"  
"Yes. She had some internal bleeding, but we operated on her as soon as you came. She's broken her spine, arms and one leg. She's been in a coma since the operation. We can keep her on life support, but we're not sure if she'll ever wake up. There haven't been any signs of improvement, and even if she does, she's had so much trauma to her head, she'd most probably have brain damage. I'm sorry." Naomi didn't know how to react. This person. This...girl, had saved her life, and now she might die, and Naomi didn't even know who she was.  
"I want to see her."  
"Naomi, I don't think that's a good idea...she's in a pretty bad way, and you can barely move." The doctor put her hand on Naomi's leg and sighed. "I think you should get some sleep, Naomi, you've had a very stressful few days and you need some rest.  
"I want to see her! LET ME FUCKING SEE HER!" Naomi was shouting. She was angry. Upset. Scared. She didn't know how she was feeling. She was so confused. All she knew is that she wanted to see this Emily girl.  
"Please, Naomi, don't do this. You can see her when you're a bit better." Gina knew that once Naomi had decided on something, it was going to happen, but she still tried to stop her anyway.  
"I promise I won't move my arm. We can get a wheelchair and I'll just look for a second. Please. I need to see her." She tried to calm herself down. She knew that shouting was just going to draw unwanted attention to herself. "Mum, please?" Gina looked at the doctor, who sighed and nodded.  
"Just this once. You've got five minutes." The doctor said and went to go and find a wheelchair. When she returned with the chair, they helped Naomi into it and Gina wheeled her towards Emily's room.  
"Do you know where it is?" Naomi asked.  
"Yes. Whenever you were being seen too, I'd go and visit Emily. Jenna and I have become quite close, we haven't left your sides. Before I heard that you had woken up, I had told her to go home and have a shower, but she'll probably be back in half an hour." She yawned. She really did look exhausted.  
"Jenna? That's Emily's mum, right?"  
"Wow, it looks like your memory is getting better already, Naomi!"  
"Yeah..I just wish I could remember Emily."  
As they arrived at Emily's room, Naomi could feel the butterflies in her stomach. Gina opened the door and Naomi gasped. She could see a small, red haired girl, with a cute face, lying there, emotionless. Her arms were bandaged up, as were one of her legs. Her head had a scar on it, and there were bruises on her face. Naomi started crying.  
"Emily, how could I forget you? Fuck." She started to remember everything. Emily telling her about her sister, Naomi running away and calling her. Spending the night in her bed. The smell of her skin. Her smile. Her beautiful brown eyes. She could even remember the accident.

_Naomi pushed herself up against Emily. The wind was making her cold, and she needed Emily's body heat to keep her warm. At least, that's what Naomi had planned to say if Emily said anything.  
When they arrived at the College, Emily got off the moped, and took her helmet off. She shook her hair and Naomi watched as it fell over her shoulders and made her look so angelic and beautiful. She smiled.  
"What?" Emily had a cheeky grin on her face.  
"Nothing..you're just…really beautiful."  
"Thanks. You're not too bad yourself." She winked and gestured for Naomi to get off the bike. As she was taking her helmet off, she heard the sound of a car speeding down the road. She looked over her shoulder. She couldn't see anything. But when she turned back, she could see a car coming towards her. Everything seemed to slow down. It was as if life had become slow motion. The next thing she knew Emily was running to her side, and shoving her out of the way. She turned to look at Naomi. She smiled. Naomi had no idea why she was smiling, she was just about to get hit by a car. Naomi landed on the floor, her head hitting the curb. "MOVE!" Naomi shouted. But Emily didn't hear, she just looked at the car, and continued to smile. "I miss you so much." Emily said and reached towards the air. The moped suddenly fell over and landed on Naomi's arm. She screamed in pain. She could hear screaming, but it wasn't her. "Emily?" She shouted over the noise. She opened her eyes to see a crowd of people around her. She could just about see Emily's arm. She wasn't moving. There was blood. Lots of it. Naomi cried out in pain and anger. "EMILY!" Emily didn't move. She burst into tears. "Please be okay." She whispered. The she blacked out._

Naomi blinked. Tears streaming down her face. "Mum, I remember. I remember everything that happened. It's all my fault." Naomi sobbed. Gina put her hand on Naomi's shoulder and squeezed it.  
"Everything will be okay. Emily's strong, she'll get through this." Naomi could hear the pain in Gina's voice.  
"If I had just moved out the way, Emily would be fine, and we'd be in College right now, laughing and being happy. If Emily dies..it'll be because of me." She continued crying. Gina lent down in front of her and started stroking her face.  
"Naomi, this wasn't your fault. It's not your fault she's here. It's that cunty driver… Do you remember the day we found out Ryan had cancer? We had just left the gp's office and we both just started crying. But he didn't. He never showed how scared he was. He never complained or moaned about it, he just got on with it. He was so brave. He kept both of us strong. He would hold our hands and tell us everything was going to be okay…I think you should do the same for Emily. Be strong. Be brave. For Emily..For Ryan."  
"You're right. I'm not letting her die. I'll stay here day and night if I have too, I'm not leaving her." Naomi wiped away her tears with her good hand and watched Emily.  
"Come on dear, let's get you back to bed. You can visit Emily tomorrow." Gina said and pushed Naomi out of the door. Naomi turned her head, ignoring the pain shooting down her neck and watched Emily until she couldn't see her anymore. She looked down and sighed. _Everything's going to be okay._


End file.
